US ends surveillance of Daesh convoy at Russian request

The U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition pulled its surveillance aircraft from monitoring an 11-bus convoy that was attempting to reach eastern Syria, the coalition said Friday.

The move was made at Russia's request as Syrian regime forces "advanced past" the Daesh convoy, the coalition said in a statement.

"The regime's advance past the convoy underlines continued Syrian responsibility for the buses and terrorists. As always, we will do our utmost to ensure that the ISIS terrorists do not move toward the border of our Iraqi partners," said Brig. Gen. Jon Braga, director of operations for the coalition, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, another name for Daesh.

Daesh fighters and non-combatants had been allowed safe passage under a controversial agreement with Lebanese Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, following their military defeat along the Lebanese-Syrian border.

The coalition last week blocked the roadway the convoy was going to use to flee to territory under the terror group's control by cratering the way forward.

At the time President Donald Trump's anti-Daesh coalition envoy, Brett McGurk, said Daesh "terrorists should be killed on the battlefield, not bused" across Syria.